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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. land — ground
  10. snap — to click
  11. land — to come down
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. game — a match
  14. pass — a permit
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. land — a country
  22. ball — a great time
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cold — not warm

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com